Denver officer killed man with marker because he thought it was a knife

On Monday, researchers reported that A Denver police officer fatally shot a man she thought was armed with a knife as he lunged at her, but was actually only holding a black marker.

Body camera footage shows the suspect Brandon Cole, 36, raises a gun to chest level during an assault on an officer on the night of August 5. The agent, whose name was not released, shot Cole twice.

The woman and small child seen behind him in the video were not injured and were not involved in the initial police call.

“This is a terrible tragedy,” Chief Ron Thomas said at a press conference on Monday. The Denver District Attorney’s office will determine if the officer acted legally when he shot Cole.

A neighbor called 911 to report possible domestic violence involving Cole, his wife, and their teenage son. Denver Post reports.

Police Commander Matt Clark said on Monday that the caller said the woman may have been pushed out of her wheelchair and said Cole was “chasing” her son.

When the police arrived, the woman was sitting on the street next to the wheelchair and told the officer: “No, please don’t take my husband’s gun,” body camera video showed. Cole then started screaming and was tasered to death while walking towards one of the officers.

Investigators said they believe only one taser probe hit Cole and this did not stop him from attacking another officer who shot him.

“The video shows that when she finally draws her service weapon, this person is so close to her that she can’t even see the look of a little boy and another person. It was a consideration, of course, but there wasn’t much time to act before this man intruded,” Thomas said.

The officer who shot Cole has been with the police since 2019 and has not been involved in any other shootings.